Notes

By Deborah Ferens, Saul Chernos

B.C.

Tens of thousands of B.C.ers walked for Peace again this April. The tradition continues!

Many groups are still active in post-Gulf war peace work. The Gulf PeaceTeam working with the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies took truckloads of medical supplies to help the sick and wounded citizens in Iraq and Kuwait.

The Gulf Environmental Response Team (GEERT) is a non-profit, non-aligned worldwide network of people concerned about the ecological consequences of the war in the Gulf. It was founded by Randy Thomas, a journalist and environmental activist from Saltspring Island, and Carl Chaplin, a Vancouver eco-artist. It was one of the few groups engaged in hands environmental work immediately after the Gulf war. GEERT now has offices in Vancouver, Amsterdam and Tokyo.

The Victoria campaign to have a public environmental review of nuclear ship visits continues to grow. The Greater Victoria Disarmament Group and many supporters, including leader of the NDP Mike Harcourt, are calling for a Federal Environmental Assessment Review.

The North Coast Tribal Council sponsored a conference in Prince Rupert, B.C. at the end of April concerning the construction of a nuclear armed and nuclear powered submarine testing station in Southeast Alaska.

International Disarm-the-Seas Week took place May 18-May 26. The theme was "From the Pacific, to the Atlantic, to the Persian Gulf-Let us Disarm the Seas Together." They launched a letter writing campaign for that week and the focus was the U.S. military facility in the Behn Canal, Southeast Alaska. They asked writers to protest the construction of the facility and to urge the Canadian government not to let Trident, Sea Wolf and Los Angeles-class nuclear powered and nuclear armed sub-marines through Canadian waters.

CFB Comox is being expanded to accommodate half an electronic warfare squadron.

Dr Jerilynn Prior of Victoria, conscientious objector to military taxation, is now appealing her case to the U.N. Human Rights Commission in Geneva, Switzerland. The Supreme Court of Canada twice refused to hear the case and Revenue Canada seized Dr. Prior's bank assets in late February.

Deborah Ferens 604/247-8335

Ontario

Planning continues for the Ontario Peace Conference. This will be held in Toronto Sept. 13 to 15 in conjunction with the annual meeting of the International Peace Bureau. The theme for the OPC is Meeting the International Peace Movement and, for both conferences, Building World Community: Reconciliation and Resistance. Volunteers and financial assistance are urgently needed to make this two-in-one conference a success. Contact the OPC c/o ACT for Disarmament, 763 Bathurst St., Toronto, M5S 2R4. (416)531-6154. Ontario Notes is also a contact.

Rumors abound that ARMX is cancelled! However, a polite call from PEACE to Baxter publishing has revealed that the decision is still to be made. According to Richard Sanders, the Conversion Conference in Ottawa has been moved to the 21st of September, with a meeting to start a national conversion campaign taking place on the 22nd. More info. on that at (613)231-3076. Alliance for Non-Violent Action is still planning resistance actions and a walk to stop ARMX. They can be reached at (416)461-2274.

More than 200 activists took to the streets in Toronto May 11 to demand that armies worldwide be abolished. The event was organized by ACT for Disarmament and it was the group's 9th Annual Spring Peace Protest. In Brantford, Project Ploughshares supporters kept alive the intended spirit of Mother's Day with a peace walk May 11. Graeme MacQueen of the peace studies department at McMaster University in Hamilton spoke about "The New World Order."

Activists from Lindsay, Coboconk, Craighurst, Oakville, Gravenhurst, Toronto and Orillia met at Dragonfly Farm in Medonte Township east of Orillia April 14 to discuss the war and to do some networking. The mini conference, aimed at connecting Ontario activists, was sponsored by ACT for Disarmament.

The war may be declared ended, but the suffering continues. The Gulf Peace Team, which briefly set up a peace camp in the Middle East, is now working on humanitarian aid and has changed its name to the World Peace Team and its Canadian office from Toronto to British Columbia. The new address is Durrance Rd., RR5, Victoria BC. (604)652-5434.

The Toronto Voice of Women chapter celebrated Mother's Day for Peace with Shadow paintings of animals and people, reminiscent of those who are the victims of war.

If the activities of your group are not mentioned here, it's because we have not heard from you. Call Ont. Notes at the number below or write P.O. Box 611, Orillia, Ontario L3V 6K5.